The Last Battle
by Luff Bunny
Summary: Slash, and completely AU. What happens when a muggle war affects the wizarding world unintentionally. SSLMRLSB
1. The Last Battle

_Author note: This is AU and Slashy so if you don't like either don't read. I apologise in advance if anyone is offended but this isn't a political statement, merely an idea that came to me while walking up the stairs to my bedroom. As ever none of it belongs to me. I'm actually writing this out of sync so a later chapter was written before this was finished, and I'm constantly working on it in my head while I try and sleep. It's taking a while to write so please be patient with me. Also if anyone would like to beta I would be more than grateful. Luff out._

The Last Battle

He never expected that the greatest threat to Hogwarts; to the students now would be the Muggles. The Prime Minister hadn't cared to share his problems with Severus on their weekly debriefings, and as far as anyone was aware the only thing threatening the world were actions done in the name of Voldemort.

Severus had never been so blind that he believed Muggles were not a threat, they were, but they always seemed as if they were existing in a whole different world, one where wizards occasionally infringed but Muggles didn't return the favour. The magical world, regardless of where the people were born were automatically Magical, no longer Muggle regardless of what the Pureblood's propagandized, remained Magical, and the Muggle world remained Muggle.

He was by no means ignorant to Muggle life; he understood science, and the range of diseases, even the cures. He'd marveled at the pure genius of inventors, how they made things work; the way that they'd managed to do things that Wizard's did, but without magic. He'd even adopted some of their more interesting practices within his quarters, there was no doubt about it there was a lot to be admired.

He also knew about the different methods of killing, from the gun to the atomic bomb. He'd read about the effects of nuclear war, he'd seen public information tapes, seen it at the pictures, had even been to Hiroshima, but it never seemed real, it always seemed like science fiction. He'd never really considered that the Muggles would use it against each other, it was too destructive, chemical warfare yes, kill a population and move in and take over the location without damaging the ground, the structures. Not ruining them for the next hundred two hundred years, Muggles didn't live that long…

He had two days warning, two days to mobilize his world, to warn people to try and save the Magical world from the Muggle one. He wouldn't have had that if it hadn't been for the Prime Minister looking guilty at their last meeting, as he should. Severus had turned up a day early, it was his anniversary soon and had planned to spend the next couple of days organizing it, but instead now he was in a cold sweat.

"You know about our trouble with the Middle East, and with the USA, how we put ourselves into a situation. Similar to that during the Cold War" The PM's normal cheery façade had vanished, leaving a strained fifty year old man, the voice of a strong leader now weak and anxious. He was a peacetime leader, he wasn't a Churchill, he hadn't expected everything to happen, and now he had to break the news to someone who perhaps could have helped if he'd known.

"Uh – Well, as you know the Russians and the Americans were so close several times to setting off their bombs, which would have destroyed the northern hemisphere for any living life, and damaged the Southern as well." Coughing he couldn't even make the others eyes, instead moving to the window that looked out over the Thames, his eyes unseeing as he broke his explanation again.

"Both believe strongly in their own ideals, a date has been set, the final showdown, New Years Day, 0.00 GMT, if by that time either one hasn't backed down, and believe me neither will, the Middle East will press their button, and the Americans will press theirs.

"The public will not know about this, only a few and I mean a few officials know, we can't stop it, we can't protect our people. When the time comes it will be quick and painless.

"We have a few bunkers prepared, but not enough to house even a single percent of the population, not just in terms of space, but we don't have the supplies. The only people who will be saved are a few scientists who have managed to crack the cloning puzzle. A few of our best treasures have been stored.

"I hope you have better luck with your world than I have with mine"

Days he had, mere days.

Dumbledore, Dumbledore would help him, Dumbledore would know what to do, why the hell didn't Dumbledore know this was happening Dumbledore always knew. Damn Dumbledore. Damn Muggles.

Lucius, Remy, god he had to see them, he had to tell them.

No must go to Dumbledore now.

"Severus? We'll be wiped out, we're as badly prepared as they are, our land will be decimated, the air will be thick with caustic ash. There's no way that they can be made to see sense? We can't just go and polyjuice someone? Wizmagot would approve, I know we are all told not to, but this is a matter of life or complete decimation."

"We - we can't, Albus we warded them too well, it was part of the deal remember. Unless one backs down, that's it."

It sounded so final, the words just hung in the silence, neither willing to hear them, to think them, but both too realistic, practical to ignore them.

"Severus, we can shield the grounds, we can protect the school, put it in a bubble, and we can recycle the air, filter it, and water… How long would it have to be like this though, with all the students, with all the villagers we could last a month maximum."

"We're talking centuries Albus, centuries."

There was an uncomfortable silence as they both sat slumped in their chairs, Severus with his fingers twined together, and Albus with his fingers clenched white against the chair arm.

"We can send the students into stasis, shut them down completely, in fact we could shut everyone down into stasis, but we'd need a few to stay awake… We'll need supplies, to last until we are self sufficient. We'll need to get everyone here, make sure no-one's left out there. I could… do my thing…"

"How can we get word to everyone?"

"Not my problem Albus, just make sure everyone is here by tomorrow morning, we'll need to change the school around again. Change the parameters, gods, we'll have to take the wards out to the edges of the forbidden forest, we can't leave them out to die. Not again Albus. It won't happen this time, we won't let it, and I won't let it.

"Albus – it'd be difficult enough with a month, but two days, drop the wards round the school, let people apparate in, I don't trust them not to kick off the proceedings a couple of hours early, and I don't want people dying just outside the school.

"Just make sure they arrive soon, tell them to get here now, I'll make sure I get the stuff, just make sure, even if they are the first I don't care. Don't tell the students what's happening in the Muggle world; just tell them it's a practice run. If we get through this – when we get through this, we don't want them to be like Tom.

"Tom and the others will be invited Albus, promise me. I'll be back tomorrow morning. Just make sure you do your part, and I'll do mine. Don't start on the stasis without me though; I want to make sure that it's strong enough to last the time."

"Severus, just come back, we'll need you. They need you"

Severus had never been any good at small things with magic, which was why other than when he dueled or fought, he didn't use his wand. Transfiguring a stick into a matchstick when he had matches seemed stupid, and he couldn't tone down the amount of magic he put into it the thing would invariably explode under the pressure of magic, so he just didn't bother. When he fought he didn't need to tone it down. If he'd been asked to turn a splinter into a forest he could, not that there would be much point, it would look like a forest, smell like a forest but it was still a splinter.

What he excelled in when he was allowed was moving things and shrinking them. He could take a village and shrink it down to the size of a matchbox, and then enlarge it back into its original form. He could manipulate buildings; make them bigger on the outside than they were on the inside, or vice versa. He could do it with non humanoids inside, and they'd be fine, just sent into stasis until enlarged, but humanoids when in a building he'd shrunk, well they never woke up. People weren't meant to be minimized. They knew how big they were, whilst non humanoids just accepted the new reality.

He was skirting round the forest, laying the new route for the wards, setting up barriers to stop the creatures leaving but not entering. So much to think about, the lake and mountains surrounding it needed to be protected, to house the creatures they could get to come. The ethics behind keeping them aware or sending them into stasis. Keep them aware and they could be used for ingredients, for meat, keep them in stasis and not worry about the territorial fighting. Perhaps some to be kept aware and some in stasis. He'd have to discuss it with the others.

Every time he stopped to think he considered something new, something else to worry about, something else to consider and figure out. Stasis – he'd have to stay awake through it, someone would have to wake them up, and there was no proof that if they all went into stasis that they'd wake up again. Hell he doubted that they could all go into stasis, everything stopped, the aging process, bodily functions, life, magic, and if he stopped then the others would wake. Fuck.

He'd finally finished mapping out the surroundings, complete with grazes, nettle stings, bite marks and heavy breathing from scrambling. But it would all have to wait, for now he had to work on shutting things down, he'd start with the important places first, the shops mainly, and the ministry, but he'd have to slip back and just check, just check that they were there. He couldn't set off if they weren't how could he. No he'd just slip back in, find them and go again.

Apparating into Hogwarts was easy enough, it took effort and energy, and a lot of it, so he could do it, probably one of the only reasons he remained there. The challenge of it.

It didn't take long to see that they weren't in his rooms, nor were they in the great hall, nor in the headmasters study, in fact he was getting quite anxious when he finally ran into Albus.

"Lucius is with Draco, Remus and Sirius are with Harry, they were the first to arrive. You'll be glad to know Voldemort has arrived as well, though he has been quarantined into the chamber of secrets, and not just for the safety of all, but he looks ill Severus. Like he has some wasting disease. Anyway the rest of that ilk are with him. The Ministry is clear, Diagon Ally is also clear, Knockturn is, well mostly empty, I think some of the occupants are trying to hide things, so you might want to shout before you do your thing.

"Hogsmeade isn't ready yet, but hopefully they will be by tomorrow, they are helping out with the influx of people. Your family though isn't responding to owls or floo calls, you might want to investigate. Narcissa Black has sent word that there are problems moving people from St Mungo's, and some of the smaller field hospitals are also suffering from the same problem.

"Student's families are all coming over, but soon Severus you'll have to make some more room, and, well, Europe, the schools, the communities, well, they are all doing the same, but, they don't have the same kind of power behind them that we do. I'm afraid that we'll lose them.

"Some of our more powerful allies have gone to assist in the moving of people, and the Knight Bus is working hard-"

"Albus, as soon as they get back, no one leaves, no one after 7am tomorrow morning. Not a single person, anyone I can't get here we'll mourn, but we can not go chasing after people." With that he left again.

The Ministry took a while, it was so complex that if he hadn't been on a strict time scale he would have enjoyed, but instead could only feel himself getting more and more wound up as the seemingly simple building kept twisting in his grasp. Eventually, after threatening to break it in his grip he had it in his pocket, safe and sound.

Next stop the shops, this was easier, while there were more, they were straightforward buildings, and shrank without too much fuss. He always found it surprising that after he removed a building or a street, what was left was green grass and gentle hills. To the point he was often reluctant to ruin them by placing the wizard made monstrosities back again.

Knockturn Ally was a bit of an issue, it twisted and turned, and there was the odd goblin left inside some shops. He was starting to feel like it was all his fault; the way they glared at him, as if he was the invader, instead of the person trying to save it all.

What took an hour though was Gringotts. It went on for miles, and by the time he was finished he was suffering from a migraine and could have easily done with five hours sleep. But already it was growing dark, and he still had to get St Mungo's sorted, and well, he was going to steal a few things from the Muggle world. The British Library being one of them.

St Mungo's was in chaos. The floo needed sweeping after the amount of traffic in the last few hours, but none of them had the faintest idea how to, and the sweeps were all safely ensconced at Hogwarts. The bed bound patients were bewildered by the noises, and the Mediwizards were at the end of their tethers.

The wards with terminally ill patients Severus decided would not make it, and nor would it be fair to them or anyone else. Critically ill, well they still had a day, and there was nothing stopping him discretely disposing of them if needs be. The rest could be sent through the floo if someone worked out how to clean it. Damn the sweeps.

The problem was solved when a student, desperate to get out, blasted his neighbour's owl up the chimney. It killed the owl but cleared the floo, and after that whenever it got a bit tight another bird was sent up. It didn't take too long for the occupants who were in with a chance to leave the building, where a swift _eternus somnus_1 sent those who had remained into a peaceful sleep into the loving arms of death itself. Sick as he knew it was, it was a prime opportunity to harvest much needed ingredients, and well, no one would really know. He would have received them in normal circumstances anyway. Just a little later than this, and not as well preserved. Not like anyone would challenge him on it now.

The British Library had been relatively easy to steal, a disillusionment charm, a shrinking spell and a mirage, the staff wouldn't be in anyway, the place would be closed until the New Year, and well, no one would see the New Year in. This was his reasoning behind stealing the art gallery as well, and slipping over to France, Notre Dame he believed to be one of his most favorite places to visit, having spent many days off just sitting under the roof. Staring up in wonderment. He couldn't really excuse stealing the Louvre other than it had been a good idea, and well, he had been running short on time, but it was here and he liked it. But he believed his best find, his best steal had been that of a warehouse, it had been jammed packed full of books, thousands of different books, lots of Muggle things as well, things he would no doubt find completely useless after the power went out, but the books were a find.

By the time he returned to Hogwarts his pockets were overflowing. With bits of different places sticking out at odd angles. He looked as if he'd raided a model town and stolen the attractions. Albus however wasn't best please at the sight of a pyramid, and the blush on Severus' cheeks as he spotted what looked like a tiny chocolate manufacturers.

"Been busy? Severus I haven't time for this. Charlie arrived with a herd of dragons, or whatever you call a lot of them; he's got them in the nest site up behind the Astronomy tower. Beauxbaton's have arrived, Durmstrang are busy arriving as we speak."

"Well it's a Wing, a Wing of Dragons, though if you read certain Muggle books you'll find other names for them. Regarding the occupants of the school, you need to separate the werepeople from the full wizards. They can not be put under; they'll never make it through the transformation. At the same time, you need to separate a few of the people we will need to remain aware. Preferably a few medistaff, Poppy not included, she won't have the experience, nor does she have the personality for the task. Molly Weasley needs to remain aware, as does Charlie, the twins do not, they must be kept in the room for those under stasis and Wonder Boy must also remain in that room, as do you Albus. In fact all staff must remain in that room. The only exception is Hagrid. Send him to clear some space on the meadow at the back.

"When you bring the relevant people to my rooms please bring along with you Arthur Weasley, the Were creatures can be placed within the room of requirement, just keep them calm until I can see to them. Also make sure Filch stays within the main hall. We don't need him disturbing things do we…"

"We have twelve hours now Severus, twelve hours before we can do no more. What's the next stage?"

"Next stage is I go steal some farms, we'll need something to feed the dragons, unless you want to throw students at them. There are a few big cattle ranches I can just remove, and some flocks of sheep. Let me know how many Werepeople there are, also could you put these somewhere?" the toy town he'd collected was gently placed on a desk top, before being deposited in a drawer and locked until a more suitable time.

"See you in a little while, I should be gone an hour tops, by that point I want people in location. That'll leave us with eleven hours."

So that was how he found himself on a cattle ranch in the middle of the USA, explaining to a confused owner why he and his staff were going to find themselves in Scotland, with their entire ranch shrunk, and would be helping him look after it.

If Severus had been honest he would have admitted the agreement from all involved hadn't been made with all of the agreed fully understanding what was actually going on. If he was brutally honest he would have admitted that he had just taken advantage of them and made them agree to something believing they were talking to a random madman. However he had gotten the agreement, and they were in location.

The next ranch he just stole the cattle and shrank it, and with the next twenty. It was easier that way. He needed a herd that would establish themselves, that could be milked, and that would breed. While the other herd's he'd removed would stay happily in shrunken stasis, and every time a dragon needed feeding he'd enlarge them and toss them to the dragons. A little like feeding frozen mice to snakes, just on a larger scale.

A similar practice went on with the sheep, a whole farm, along with hands and owner was transported – people separately- back to the school, and then he went to fill his pockets full of sheep. Then a few herds of goats, a some ducks, a few gaggles of geese lots of hens, they'd need eggs, some pigs, though there were some wild boars within the Forbidden Forest, but those were bigger than the average boar.

He then raided several nurseries, before hitting on an orchard. This led him onto others, and more Muggles to work them, and then vineyards. To the point where by the time he returned to Hogwarts they had eight hours left instead of eleven. And a very frantic Albus.

"You were four hours, you said one. More and more muggles keep turni- Where the hell are you going now?"

"PM's calling, it has to be important – I'll be back ASAP, keep everyone here now, no one leaves, I'll be quick I promise Albus"

"Professor Snape, Severus, they are giving us three hours to get to shelter, in two hours fifty minutes they will announce to the world that they are going to blow us all to hell. You need to save a town, just one, a city if possible, but please, you said you could save your people, save ours as well, save a town a city and give us the chance you will have. Please. Any of them, just save one. I'm begging you"

A small nod and the disappearing back was the only answer he received, but at this point there was no time for needless answers, for wasted words. He'd seen it in the others eyes as he'd asked, he would do his best, and that was all anyone could hope for. Within three hours the end of the world would come, for most if not all.

Wiping the small tears from the corners of his eyes, the Prime Minister, dismissed all staff and sent them home to their loved ones, before leaving for his own family. In two hours forty two minutes, after the announcement, he would make his own broadcast, and then it would all be over.

London was an obvious choice, but impossible. Birmingham ditto, Manchester was an option, York was out, Lichfield but that would be cheating, it was tiny, Manchester or Edinburgh. No not Manchester, same reason as London it was too all encompassing. Edinburgh or Glasgow, heads or tails. Edinburgh was more up market, full of students. No, just stick a pin in a map and the lucky place got to exist.

Stafford, central, a large enough population, easy enough to keep from becoming inbred, the location wasn't too sprawling. So he just ripped it up out of the earth, leaving a massive crater, and by this point he didn't care that the Muggles would be alarmed. He'd cast _sopor2 _and then _immobilisme3 _sending the whole place into stasis, before dumping it in the between space between the Muggle Scotland and the Wizarding locale. It would take the rest of the time to just skirt round the new area, setting up the new wards, extending the bubble. Casting _accelero4 _upon himself, he skirted round the new area, using up immense amounts of magic until he felt quite light headed, it had done one thing, it had given him a just reason to open up the area further, no longer did he have to relocate Hogsmeade, and the land between the Muggle town and the school, was more than enough for the rotation of crops, of herds and flocks. There was even enough to build a Wizarding town, well, enlarge a Wizarding town instead of keeping it toy size in a drawer.

The accelero had given him twenty minutes spare, after raising the wards completely effectively keeping everything of the outside world out. There was one more giant task left though, to put most of the school under the stasis charm. To do it before they realized the truth, before they started to panic.

By the time he was heading into the school, he was lagging, not even the hastening spell could make him walk at anything faster than a snails pace, and he was lagging, badly lagging. For all his talk of how he enjoyed expending great amounts of power, he still didn't have the reserves for this, not even at the end of the summer term would he have had. All that had carried him this far was adrenaline. And he'd forgotten one very important place.

Latching onto the first person he saw he kissed them hard, drinking in their power from their life essence, before dropping them and apparating out. He had ten minutes, ten minutes to grab Tintagel and get back to school. He should have gone their first, without Tintagel, without the people within it; there would never be any hope for the world.

Five minutes to blast it out of the ground, going into the depths of the sea before apparating back, closing the bubble back up and collapsing.

Lucius had seen his lover stagger in, his body dripping with fatigue before paling, whiter than a ghost, and half turning. What had happened next had been unexpected, as his normally reticent lover grabbed what looked like a Hufflepuff Werecat, kiss them senseless, pinken back up, leaving the student whom he was sure should have been somewhere else, half dead on the steps, with no Severus in sight.

Then eight minutes later, having not moved from the entrance other than to waken the cat and send them to the others, watched as a huge lump of rock slammed into the grounds, and his Severus fall to the floor and stay down, now a grey colour. Within seconds he was by his side, pressing their lips together, feeding him magic into the drained body, but as much as he was feeding, the only change to the body beneath him was heat returning to the cold body. And Albus Dumbledore miraculously appearing by his side, after he was sure he had been told to stay within the great hall.

"Lucius, you need to make sure that everyone gets to sleep. The whole school needs to go into shut down, no exceptions, everyone, even the people outside, everyone needs to enter the school and sleep. Sleep until Severus has regained some of his reserve. I'll make sure he gets in safely, but everyone must go to sleep. Promise me Lucius. Severus should have sleeping potions; add them to the water that will be served."

"It's a drill, you said it was a drill Albus, so why is he bringing lumps of rock into the grounds, and why has he been completely drained. Voldemort is in the Chamber, and as far as I am aware there is no great threat, so why Albus would Severus be this drained?"

"If we had the time to discuss it I would answer you, but until we have the time, just do as you are bid Lucius Malfoy. Severus will answer your questions for he knows better than I, but will answer them when he is able. He won't be able to until you get the school to sleep. He will wake you when he is recovered."

"As you wish Headmaster" He gave an icy nod and a concerned glance at man still lying on the cold ground before he slipped back into the building, heading straight for the dungeons.

"Something's up"

"Dumbledore's involved, of course there will be Lucius, its part of who he is."

"Thank you for that oh so insightful comment, Black. I mean something is seriously wrong, you didn't see him Remus, and he was drained, completely drained, he's never completely drained…" The words took on a faint wail as the normally restrained blonde clutched at his other lover.

"Remus, Dumbledore's hiding something, he wants us to drug the school until Severus wakes up, and he wants us to leave him alone while he gets better. We won't though will we?"

"He's asleep?"

"More like unconscious"

"He's unconscious, and Albus told you to drug the school and leave him on his own?"

"Yes, but we wont will we?" The blonde had a pleading look in his eyes, only beginning to dissipate when Remus stroked his hands gently, offering him a comforting smile, no, Remus wouldn't leave their love while he was ill, not for the headmaster, not for Lucius, not for anybody.

"Did our esteemed leader have any ideas on how to drug the school, or why he wanted it to be done, or where he was going to leave Sev?"

"Sleeping potions in the meal, he didn't say why he wanted it to be done, just that no one was to be outside, and he said he'd take him to safety which could be any blasted place, I mean it could mean the infirmary, or the chamber – damn did you know Riddle's here? It's like the whole of the wizarding worlds here – or he could have meant the Room of Requirement. God knows where he could have taken Sev, I mean he could have just dumped him in a classroom" The words were starting to take on a frantic tone again, as his fingers clutched tightly at Lupin's.

"Padfoot, dose the juice at the meal, just go to the kitchens and pour it in there, come back in Padfoot form, if you scent Severus come get us, I wouldn't suggest going to the source yourself, not if Albus is looking out for him, you might end up in a whole heap of trouble.

"Lucius love, after they've ingested the potion we'll go find him, but until then you know it's too dangerous with Albus awake. Until he's asleep we don't act, he'll take longer to succumb to the potion than anyone else, so we fake sleep, if needs be we place ourselves on a time release enervate so twenty minutes after we drink it we wake up. I promise we'll find him though, but you're going to have to relax, and don't try tackling Albus about it. Promise me love?"

"If he even smiles at me I can't be to blame for my actions though, and if Sev is hurt you wont be able to stop me going after him, because you know it'll be his fault, it's always bloody Dumbledore hurting Sev –"his angry rant was stopped by a swift kiss, and he found himself held gently by his lover.

"Don't love, just focus on getting through the next hour and we'll sort it all out. Just trust me, ok."

Sirius did as asked, slipping the potions into the juice and the soup that the elves were preparing, making sure that they didn't notice they extra ingredient, before returning to the dungeons, not scenting the old bat anywhere, and keeping in the shadows when he heard the Headmasters voice echoing down the corridor. Over the years he'd picked up a healthy mistrust for the old man.

They made it up to the Great Hall, with Remus gently restraining Lucius, keeping one hand one him at all times, and Sirius sitting to his other side, ready to grab him if he made a move to attack the headmaster, but he behaved himself to the greater extent, muttering while the headmaster spoke, but that was it. They'd agreed to take the potion and that Remus would cast the enervate on himself, and when he woke on the other two.

The first thing he heard when he woke was "vate" which Remus had cast on Black. It was the only thing he heard; the place was as silent as a cemetery. Rubbing at his eyes he sat upright, gazing blearily at the hall, eerily silent with sleeping figures throughout, the place was massive, bigger than ever before, the number of people that lay asleep must have been in the thousands.

Lucius though not fully alert, and a hand still rubbing at his eyes had started stalking towards the old wizard at the head table, his wand already in hand and a malicious look upon his face. His brain hadn't fully woken, and all he could remember was the urge to do painful things to Dumbledore, forgetting why exactly, but knowing there was a good reason. He'd raised his wands and his mouth was open ready to speak the first curse, before he found himself being dragged to the doors by a half annoyed Remus.

"Leave that until later, we're looking for Sev now, remember?"

"Severus, damnit we could torture the old man into telling us where he took him"

"You're starting to believe the hype about yourself, you don't do that, and we have two noses suitable for seeking our mate, we don't need the words of someone who'll lie to us and then no doubt capture us as soon as our back is turned and do something heinous to Sev. My guess is it's nowhere near where we have been, so we start by the Albus' rooms, agreed?" With the nods from either side they set off.

They searched from top to bottom, going through each classroom, each corridor, waiting for an elusive sniff of potions master, but there was no fresh scent other than that around the Hufflepuff he'd drunk from, and the front entrance.

"Maybe he's not inside? I haven't scented him anywhere but the entrance, and that was when you saw him love."

"Hagrid's hut?"

"Worth a shot, other than that we start searching the grounds,"

Though they didn't race, they walked significantly faster than normal, and the look of relief on Remus' face alerted Lucius to Severus' whereabouts. It was then that they broke into a run, bursting through the door to find the slender man laid out on the huge bed, covered by a shaggy bearskin, fast asleep. Neither of his lovers could help crawling onto the bed and touching him, kissing him, checking he was fine, and feeding their energy into him when they found him dangerously low. Even Sirius was allowed to do so, though there were soft growls from Remus at the kissing. He'd always been more possessive of the three.

The sleeping potion was still affecting them, keeping them lethargic and craving sleep, not the deep sleep of before but the need to nap, and soon all three were curled up like puppies surrounding their mate. While they slept they missed the faint thunderclaps in the distance, they missed the sky turning black and they missed when the sky turned from black to grey. The war outside the school had started and ended.

_Author note again: Although there is a strong anti Dumbledore feel throughout this though more so in later chapters, he does pretty much run the wizarding world through one scheme or another, and does seem to be omniscient, which was why Severus went to him when he was in trouble. He is perhaps the only character who could have organized a full evacuation of the wizarding world. Well that's my excuse anyway._

_1: Eternal Sleep_

_2: Deep Sleep_

_3: Immobilise_

_4: Accelerate_


	2. Sleeping Beauty Awakes

_Authors note: lots of male on male fluffiness happening._

**Sleeping Beauty Awakes**

"Whomever it is that is currently breathing into my nose, you have dog breath, would you kindly desist" The familiar bite to the potions Masters words helped rouse the sleeping occupants, that and the wriggling and poking.

"You're awake!" Lucius couldn't stop the sound of unadulterated glee from his voice and wrapped the thinner man in his arms, squeezing him tightly.

"I'm awake and struggling to breathe" Severus kissed his mate on the cheek, offering him a shy smile, before turning his face to give Remus who'd been patiently poking him a long hard kiss. They broke away both breathing hard and faces flushed, signs of arousal prominent on both of their bodies. Turning his head again he shot dog breath a look, lifting a brow at the soft plucking at his fingers.

"So do I get a kiss?" Sirius did his best puppy dog eyes at the gaunt man, who crooked his finger and beckoned him closer.

When they were mere millimetres away from each other he whispered, "Not a chance with that breath Black" smirking at the whine, but still planting a soft quick kiss against his lips. Payment he guessed for being so silly as to think that he, the merciless master of Slytherin would fall for the puppy look!

Snuggling into the arms of his blonde lover, and accepting the gentle caress against his neck from his amber eyed mate, he let himself fall back into a slumberous wakefulness. All four enjoying the quiet peace of the hut, none of them awake enough to deal with the outside world.

It was Remus who broke the peace, as it hit him where they were, the unfamiliar bed, and the smell of damp dog that had invaded all of the soft furnishings in the hut.

"So love, what was the big idea kissing a student like that?" Smiling at the pout on his lovers lips, the frown that chased the pout away, and the fingertips that stroked the frown into a blissful smile. Lucius had the touch for making Sev forget to frown, he could turn any sour expression in a matter of seconds.

"I was running low, and I still had to get something, though looking back I should have used a time turner, god how stupid am I!" he sat up, instantly forgetting the others as he started thinking back, not that anyone else was worried, he often did it, getting up in the middle of sex to go to his lab, working furiously for hours before returning to bed. "If I'd used the time turner then I could have planned, maybe I could have stopped it. I could have definitely done more, why on earth didn't it occur to me at the time? Stupid stupid stupid, I could have taken half an hour to sit down and think logically. Why the hell didn't Dumbledore suggest it, he suggested it for that stupid Hippogriff, obviously a Hippogriff is more important than us. Stupid old man, but he was in as much of a panic as I was. Stupid stupid stupid."

He was pacing now, having slipped from he bed, pacing back and forth, pinching the bridge of his nose, his forehead creased to high heaven, and his lips set in a thin line, "And now what, outsides without power, the safeguards on the dangerous materials, damn it all to hell, so much for my prediction, we'll be looking at –" He turned, standing stock still as he stared at the three on the bed, "What day is it?"

"We've been under the influence of one of your sleeping draughts, so anywhere between two days and ten?"

"You have no idea what day it is at all? Remus, can you feel the moon?"

"Severus you know as well as I do, that I don't feel the moon until I change," He held the note of exasperation out of his voice, but only just, whilst the man stood still for a second before slumping to the floor in what looked like defeat.

"So we don't know where we are in the moon cycle, we don't know what day it so I can't use a time turner, because I don't know how far to go back, and we have no idea what time of day it is,"

"Actually that we can know, all you need is to step outside and look at the suns position."

"Great Black, you go do that and let me know when you find out" Sirius couldn't help but note the utter scorn in Severus' voice, but did as he was bid, returning moments later with a look of confusion on his face. "It's almost pitch black out there, but it's definitely day time, that much I know, I can feel it when the sun is down?"

"I'm sure it is daylight out there," this time the sarcasm was gone, and the three just blankly stared at the man settled on the floor, "Ok kiddies, you remember our Muggle Studies lectures, when we were told about the Muggle World Wars, and Hiroshima with the nuclear weapons?" the Vague nods were enough to nudge him to continue.

"That was 61 years ago, you can imagine how Muggles have advanced with technology such as this." He paused again letting the information sink in further, the realization of the capabilities dawning on their faces, none of them being particularly slow on the uptake.

"Whilst Sirius may not be aware, I have been acting as our Wizarding delegate with the British Muggle Government, and have been for some years. While I thought myself to be keen on the current affairs the British Prime Minister, the Muggle equivalent to Fudge, has kept quiet about a private feud between two superpowers, America and the Middle East, both have fallen out and the crux of the matter was neither were backing down.

"I say was, the reason it is black out there is because just before the New Year turned, both countries set off their nuclear weapons. The reason for my fatigued state on that day is because we were trying to save as much as possible. At the moment there is a shield protecting us right down to the molten lava below us from the effects of the radiation. Unfortunately we are not only dealing with weapons, but also with the power stations that worked off nuclear power, the fail safes that kept them safe will no longer be in place as all of the power systems will be out due to the whole damn country being blown to kingdom come…" He offered them a weak smile, while they sat in silence, their bodies numb with shock, not quite taking in what was said, not understanding the full implications.

"So now folks, now we have to up sticks and shift over to Faerun, instead of as Dumbledore and I were thinking waiting out the damage. Guess what though, to do so means we'll have stick most people under stasis, it's going to be difficult enough to move without all those people milling about. We'll need to ration, as we'll be running out of food, oh and we have a muggle town with us." He stopped before kicking weakly at the floor.

"Before you start debating the pros and cons, it's not an option. We are going to Faerun and that's it, we can't stay here, we'd need to wait out two hundred years at least before we'd even be able to consider lowering the shield, if we get it wrong then the two hundred years we waited out and survived, and that's an if we have survived it, will be a waste as we'll die slowly, or best case scenario die instantly due to weather conditions. There may still be life outside of our shield but you need to think that the world outside is obliterated, life outside will be tainted, it will die out painfully and there is nothing we can do to help because we would be endangering ourselves to do so.

"So we have to sort out those who have to remain out of stasis – yes that's you Remus, the nature of the beasts within Were creatures tear the body apart if in stasis, they change regardless but the way that the body is frozen doesn't allow for the movements of transformation. So we have to make sure we carefully without causing a panic section off those with of a were nature. Personally on the side of caution I would suggest all non fully human's to remain out of stasis. However that would include the Veela and I for one would not look forward to having a school full of Were creatures battling it out for their amusement." Scowling at the floor, scuffing at the baked earth he sighed.

"Ok, nix that idea, anyone who will not be in danger will be placed in stasis. Exceptions to this will be those who are needed for the continuation. I requested Molly Weasley be sent to my rooms by Dumbledore, however I doubt this will have been done." He smiled weakly at Lucius who'd slithered across the floor to his side, Remus though was stilled stunned on the bed, not that he blamed any of them for the shock.

"Can I ask why?" Came Lucius' soft voice, he'd never been fond of the Weasleys, Arthur especially, he resented the fact that they had adopted a massive family, while his large family were lost forever, it was salt on his wounds, and the man breathed every breath for that family. If not for their own loss, Lucius would have smiled, the Weasley's had after all been given the world, a childless couple who gained seven beautiful children, why shouldn't he babble, just not around him.

"We'll need to ration love, and Molly is the queen of rationing, she knows exactly what is low and what is plentiful, she is also a born mother, people like her, approach her. How many people approach us for anything? I'm the greasy git, you are the Malfoy, Remus is the Werewolf, and Black is a prat." He shot a quick look at Sirius, blushing at his forwardness, while he hadn't asked Lucius to stay with him, he knew he would, though Sirius was another matter. His fears were soon soothed when both Remus and Sirius drifted off the bed and enveloped both of them in a warm hug.

"So does this mean I'm officially pack?" Sirius asked, his voice soft and cautious, before being pulled into the middle of the hug.

"Yes Siri, means your ours now" Remus' voice took on a mock sinister tone, and for a moment the other troubles were forgotten as they swept up their newest member in claiming kisses, breaking off only when their lips began to feel bruised, all four a picture of wanton lust, hair mussed and rouged cheeks.

Coughing Remus dragged their attention back to the matter at hand, his method of stopping the looks that they were all shooting each other from capitulating in full on sex.

"Uh yes, so actually all of the Weasley's would be useful, in their own way each talented in their own fields, and the twin's with Molly to oversee them shouldn't be a problem, Arthur would be around as well, as you can not single him out from all the others," Severus gently kissed Lucius, easing the small frown from his face, he knew how much it hurt his love, but it was necessary.

"As long as I don't have to listen to him babble all day long about how wonderful it is to be a Weasley, you know he makes it sound it's a bad thing to be anything but Sev" His voice picked up a slight whine to it, much to the others amusement.

"Luc love, as long as you don't try starting arguments you can stay well away from the man," He smiled, nuzzling at his lovers neck, wriggling himself at the soft purrs, again Remus coughed for much the same reason as before.

"Dumbledore and Harry will be in stasis." The three glanced at Sirius, each expecting a protest, but he merely held his hands up and nodded in acceptance.

"Can understand why, he's the Boy Who Lived, and Dumbledore is the greatest Wizard of our time, you need people like that for when you bring people out of stasis, who people can mimic, they'll take their lead from them" He looked smug as he figured at the reasoning behind it.

"Or because they are both major pains in the arse, and I trust neither to follow the rules" Lucius sniggered, while Remus merely smiled.

"I'll have you know Harry is my esteemed godson-"

"And he learnt everything from you"

"Well yes, but –"

"He wouldn't know how to follow rules if his life depended on it, I mean he thinks it does and still shows flagrant disregard for them."

"Psh"

"Psh back" both grinning as they noticed the closeness of the other two, and moved closer to join in. It devolved into an all out love fest, all four kissing and touching the others, reclaiming the pack, strengthening the bonds in place. And then when all were sated they snuggled up close, luxuriating in the warmth of the others.

"so, as I was saying… I was thinking we could do with a talented potions expert, and not because he's my godson Siri" Sev gently swirled his fingers across Lucius' chest, shyly glancing up at him.

"You want Draco to stay?" the look of blatant disbelief set Sirius off into fits of giggles, especially as he continued to speak, "I love my son more than anything but he is a spoilt little brat, for which I have you and Cissa to blame, and god help him rationing, he complained when I raised his allowance by inflation terms and not to the amount he desired. You're his head of house, you know how he is for following rules, he follows the rules he wants, if it suits my little Slytherin boy he'll do it, if not he wont."

"Very true, but you doubt my ability to keep the little rat bag in line" He arched an eyebrow and fell into giggles as Luc's fingers found his ticklish spot.

"You, oh king of haughtiness, were the one who spoilt him rotten, need I remind you of "Oh Uncle Sev, Daddy is so mean he doesn't give me anywhere like enough pocket money and you know how much potion ingredients cost" flutter of long lashes, simper simper simper, and then you'd hand over the money!" He mock glared at his pale lover, who sniffed in response.

"And did he not become one of the best students at potions after yours truly?"

"May I remind you that you were teaching him how to make simple potions as soon as he could stand upright and grasp a ladle?"

"And it paid off, if your son became destitute he would make a fine living from charging for intricate potions that cost little to make"

"Look, we've had this argument before I believe you, and it's a worthy talent and I know how you despair that none of us ingrates have the patience to create something as special as a potion, but you still spoilt him rotten! I will admit he does obey you though, and Remy will just sit on him until he capitulates." They grinned as Remus pushed Lucius over onto Siri in mock hurt.

"Ah, but does that mean that Draco will obey Molly Weasley?"

"He'll have to else he'll be made to suffer the consequences. I know full well that Molly Weasley has no qualms of turning her children over her knee, no matter what age they are" He smirked to himself, before succumbing to the warm embrace of his lovers.

"I told Albus that Poppy would be no good as a mediwizard, so our best bet would be St Mungo's staff, a few specialists and a few good all rounders. Charlie Weasley will be enough for the dragon specialist, with a few of the Were's as general back up, other than that we have a couple of new farms with cattle both dairy and meat, sheep, chickens, other farm animals, though no doubt I've forgotten important things, we've got ourselves a few orchards and a vineyard. I've acquired muggle staff to work them, but they'll need help so once again it'll be up to the general awake population to keep them running ship shape."

"I would suggest first order then is to sort everyone out, wake up only those who will be staying awake and leave those who wont be asleep in the main hall. After we have a talk about what's going to happen… you'll need to borrow power from some of them if you want to place everyone under stasis." Remus, ever the voice of reason.

"The stasis isn't a problem, the problem will be remapping out the shield, creating another just within the old, so that when we leave we don't take with us the dust which is currently resting on our barrier. After that, I'll take power and boost my levels to the max, until it hurts to store any more and then we'll move. So after we wake those who need to be woken, you're all going to have to pretty much run the show until we get settled on the other side. I'm going to be too busy messing about laying new wards and stasising people." He grinned, kissing the nearest of his mates to him softly. Yeah that was what would happen…

_Authors note: The big delay was because I've actually written Chapters 4 and 5 before I started on Chapter 2. Anyway I know how Chapter 3 is going to go and then it'll be a fairly consistent update situation thingy. _


	3. A Thing For Her

_Authors note: As ever I own nothing_

**A Thing For Her**

Ducking his head at the glares from Sirius, he tried to walk away, his other two lovers had left to organise the troops as it were, leaving Sirius and Severus to make preparations, which so far mostly consisted of an uncomfortable glare from Sirius and the blank refusal to acknowledge it from Sev.

"You've always had a thing for her"

"I'm gay." No question though over who her was, there was no reason to, they'd all noticed it, around most people Sev was sharp and sarcastic, around her though he kept his temper in check and did his best to be polite, his hard edges softer, and he'd blush.

"So? You have, you've always had a thing for her, even when she was a seventh year and you were a lowly first year, you'd trail round like a puppy," If anything his glare intensified, he was tempted to go closer to the other but past experiences had shown the folly of cornering him.

"Never knew I was so interesting as a lowly first year" Came the replying snarl, followed by a deep blush that crept far below the high necked collar, "You don't think she knew do you?"

"Doubt it, she was wrapped up in Arthur, they were already dating back then, and she was doing her own trailing, so you admit it, and you know we noticed you as soon as we met you,"

"And how grateful I was for that attention" the glare turned to a look of shame at the bitter tone; it was something that neither had forgotten. For all Severus had let go of past grievances, he would never forget the years of pure hell at Hogwarts, starting with the eventful first meeting on the train. That meeting had set the pace for the next five years of hell, constantly four against one, being beaten beyond belief most the time, having to crawl to Madam Pomfrey almost daily sometimes, being berated for fighting, having to endure more hell just to be healed in an effort to be taught not to fight. Often with the others in the next cubicles wittering on about how he'd attacked them.

Flashing glaring eyes at Sirius, watching as the mutt backed away, For all he'd apologised, for all his excuses that he'd been interested in Sev, for all the talk of how it was his way of showing his affection, he knew they both knew the truth, he'd punished him for it, punished him for making him feel confused, uneasy, even back at that young age. If it had been vice versa, he'd have hexed the bastard off the face of the earth. One day they'd talk about what happened more than the apologies and the suggestions to move on, probably when Sev was so worn out he couldn't lift his wand, To be honest he wasn't sure how Remus had gotten him to forgive him, sure the wolf within saw him as a Mate, but it didn't excuse the years of persecution, the sweetly worded lies, the damage he'd done.

"Why did you forgive him, Remus I mean, he was as much involved in the whole thing as any of us. He may have stopped but he wouldn't have and you know it, if it hadn't been for the Shack incident" He paled as the words came tumbling out of his mouth, and backed up against the wall, ready to bolt for the door, as Sev looked down at the floor.

"You mean the attempted murder of two people incident surely, Black" They were back to Black again, the word spitting at him like a bullet, before sitting where he stood, his wand thrown to Sirius, obviously not trusting himself with it if they were going to open old wounds. Not that he particularly needed the wand, but it helped to calm both of them.

"I could lie and say it wasn't meant to kill you"

"Like you said, it would be a lie, if it wasn't for Lucius that night I'd have been what, raped? But your intention was to kill me, how it must have stung to discover that another of your foursome shared the same feelings you did, and the others just accepted them. I hope it burned when he became my mate, all because of you" the words soft and hissing, his eyes burning coals as they stared holes into Black.

"My aim was to kill you"

There was silence as Sirius slumped down to the floor, holding his head in his hands, his knees tucked up close to his chest, not meeting the gaze of the other.

"You know the others are naïve enough to believe that tosh about you just wanting to play a prank. You wont dissuade them of this." This was greeted with a small nod.

"My minds whirring with excuses, how I was homophobic, I mean how can a gay guy be homophobic, how I just wanted to stop feeling the way I did, that if you were gone then I would be normal, how really I knew that you wouldn't die, you were too good at survival. But honestly it's all weak excuses, I wanted you to die. I never even considered Remus into it, just how could I kill you.

"'S when I lost my faith in Dumbledore, we never had much faith in him, nor in the professors, it was clear to everyone that we were the worst kind of bullies. Hell I think everyone was afraid that if they didn't laugh at our "pranks" that we'd turn on them, if it wasn't for the Death Eaters, I don't doubt you'd be dead long before the Shack." His voice was weak and weedy, still avoiding the others gaze.

"I don't doubt that…"

"Why didn't they take you out of school, you're parents I mean, it was obvious that you were teaching yourself despite everyone else stopping you"

"Because they couldn't, when you receive your letter and you step foot in the place, you are signing a magical contract, nothing short of being expelled will release you from it. It stops people from transferring, we have to keep up the Hogwarts being the best place tradition you know."

"You know he didn't punish me, he praised James, who'd been in bed the whole time, and then he threatened you before giving you detention. You were the victim, and I don't think he let you see Poppy until the following day."

"It was punishment for being curious, the fact that I hadn't been and that it was you polyjuiced as my lover, who led me to my death – how sick can you get, if it had gone the way you wanted I would have died thinking my lover, the one person I loved more than life itself hated me so much that he'd deliberately lead me to my death, to be slaughtered like an animal. You know I cursed him for saving me, I decided that it was meant to be, that I only deserved death and that it was the only way to stop all the pain…"

"Lucius told me, said he had to make you take a wizards vow not to take your own life, he told me about the nightmares that you had, told me about the way you'd stay up all night practising shielding charms, notice me nots, invisibility incantations…" Whispering until his voice broke off.

"Tell me what I was supposed to do, my lover started chasing after the boy who'd tried to rape me, the adults were letting you all have a free for all on me, I was made aware in no uncertain terms that as far as the Headmaster was concerned my life meant nothing and that I was to be punished for not meeting a grizzly end. If it wasn't for my house I wouldn't have made it at all, and even then, I was forced to spend as little time there as possible, Dumbledore's way of punishing me more."

"You know I was made prefect for the sole reason that it meant I had to patrol the corridors in my free time, and that as Head Boy I was forced to sleep in a separate part of the castle,"

"James was Head Boy"

"There were two, neither of us were allowed to give or take away points, I think after James's stint as a prefect where he awarded Gryffindor one million points for being amazing, even Dumbledore couldn't trust him, so he let James have the honor of being Head Boy in name only, and I got to be it in the work load. I was the one who had to organise meetings, organise school trips, kept the students in line during Hogsmeade trips, to the point where I became the Slytherin ghost, widely known but never seen.

"I think the only saving grace was the fact that it meant I had my own private bolt hole when I needed to be alone. I just didn't have Lucius in it. I don't think anyone was as grateful as I was when Dumbledore gave me my certificate at the end of the NEWT's"

"You just apparated straight out of there, you and Lucy, didn't wait for the rest to be read out, you didn't wait for the leaving feast or the ball."

"You blame me? Why would I want to spend any more time in a place that all but killed me?"

"But you still went back to teach. I know why, Dumbledore and all that, but, didn't you ever want to just leave them to it? Just take Lucy and Remy and make a new life somewhere else?"

"And Tom, who'd have looked out for him, Goyle, Crabbe? Lucius would have been my next best bet to pull it off, but that would have defeated the point."

"You never get sick of being the one who has to do things? The one everyone leans on."

"You know that as soon as it's all settled, when my job is done they'll just forget about me until the next crisis. Until they need something else that only I can do, but they won't be civil until they need it. My guess is that once we settle we'll have two camps, those of the awake settlers, and those of the sleeping. I wouldn't even be surprised if there isn't another little crusade of Dumbledore's when he realises those that were awake aren't best pleased when being preached to by someone who has been absent for decades."

Glad that they'd moved on from their uncomfortable past, Sirius risked glancing up at Sev who merely met his glance without the anger of before.

"We're going to be a clan of people who'll have worked hard for everything we gained, we'll have our own society with our own rules, our own structure, our own beliefs. We'll have knowledge that will surpass theirs when it comes to the new way of living, we'll hopefully have made our mistakes and learnt from them while they'll have not even attempted to adjust yet.

"They'll be expecting it all handed to them on a plate, they'll be told a different version to the truth to keep in line with Dumbledore's teachings. I really can't see our clan being overly impressed by being ordered to make houses for those who have been asleep, or working hard to feed the others. No doubt we'll split within the first season, with a few staying long enough to get them through a year, and then just leave them to sink or swim, and within a few years when they don't prosper as easily as they feel we will be, they'll start blaming us, then it'll be targeting us…" as he spoke he realised the truth behind it, he'd never considered that part of the move, there was no way the two groups could be meshed again, not in their lifetimes.

"Sirius, we need to wake the Slytherin's, they'll be targeted as soon as they start turning on us, and anyone considered even part dark. Hell anyone who'll thrive in Faerun, including the Veela," He glanced frantically at Sirius, his brain whirring again, he was starting to feel like he had days before when deciding on who to save.

"Sirius, what about Ravenclaw, they're similar to Slytherin in many ways, will they see it that way, will they start punishing them?"

Black crawled over to him, for the first time since the conversation began moving closer not away, tugging him into his lap, alarmed by the wide eyed panic his new lover had gotten into.

"Shh love, I agree with you over the Slytherin kids, and anyone who was in Slytherin though maybe you should include Aberforth in that, I think he would willingly bait Albus until Albus blasted him to hell and back, but Ravenclaw, I think love that you need to remember we're talking about things that can be monitored. We'll keep an eye on them and if the worms turns we'll take them away. But we can't possibly feed all of them, the only reason I agree with Slytherin is that it'll be better to get them involved in the beginning, integrate as soon as possible, which will hold back the problems. Aberforth however perhaps hold off on him until just before we awake the others.

"Veela are similar to Slytherin though, no offence meant love but they can be as difficult as Slytherin. In fact I would compare them to the ultimate Slytherin prince, Draco. Best to stamp on them hard and from the beginning," he grinned at the snigger from Sev at the comparison, "Hagrid will be fine, and Grawp, they're Dumbledore's pets,"

"You know it'll mean that all the dark wizards will have to come with us" Sev barely managed to stifle his groan.

"Would you hate me forever if I said leave them?"

"Honestly no, you think I want us to start afresh with a bunch of idiots who are want to do their own thing, it's going to be hard enough to battle it out with the group we'll have anyway. I don't want to end up holding endless sessions on how we are not to fight, how we are supposed to work as a group and not hex each other to death." He groaned properly this time, rubbing at his forehead, "It's already giving me a headache and we've not even begun yet!"

"You know each society has to have good and bad elements. We'll just be there to stop any injustice happening against those who will become obvious targets, like Ravenclaw perhaps, and you could always obliviate the lot of them and teach them from scratch"

"I could just do that anyway…" There was a worryingly approving tone to the retort, causing Sirius to look at him sharply.

"Your seriously considering it?"

"It'd solve the problem, give everyone a fresh start, no prejudice"

"Yeah, they'd squabble about who was in charge, then they'd group into who has blue eyes, brown eyes, voices, colour, hair colour, hair length, sexual orientation, I can go on"

"So it's not a brilliant idea, but it has merit… and is an option…"

"Take out Dumbledore then"

"They'd notice and then hate us even more. Now he could die quietly in his sleep one night, but not until they are at least – why the hell are we talking about this now"

"Cos we're getting way ahead of ourselves?"

"Indeed" They shared a smile, before standing.

"You still always had a thing for her…"

"I'm still gay as you well know!"

"You still have a thing for her, we all know, it's blatantly obvious"

"She knows?"

"Arthur knows. Remus knows, Lucius knows, she however is completely oblivious."

"I don't lust after her, I just have this thing you know. You know once after you lot had torn my clothes to shreds and beaten me up until I was all bloody and bruised, she once took me to Myrtles bathroom and cleaned me up. She was the warmest person I've ever met, she cast the repairing charm on my clothes and gave me a hug." He sighed softly, Molly Weasley was amazing, he sighed again not noticing the giggles from the doorway, his lovers had returned.

"Oh Molly…" Came Lucius silky tones, drawn out in a lovesick way.

"What, she's just wonderful, she has this warmth and she was a born mother, I mean I was covered in mud and blood and snot from all the crying from the pain, and she just mothered me" he sighed again.

"Funny that, she picks a guy who can't give her kids…"

"Lucius, that wasn't nice, it's not his fault."

"Still, it's true, not like I gloated when I said it…"

"It's not his problem" came the soft comment from their pale lover, he sounded pained.

"They consulted me once, you know to see if I could brew anything, but how can you give a womb life when it refuses to accept it. It just kills the sperm and if any manage to fertilise one of her eggs then her womb kills the foetus in the early stages…"

"Oh… maybe I should stop calling Weasley impotent then" This was met with a ringing slap from Remus who took offence to the remark.

"What, it's not like I do it verbally, it's just a way of making myself feel superior" They just rolled their eyes to this, as the Blonde flicked his hair over his shoulder, huffing prettily to himself.

Leaving Severus to his Molly daydreams, Sirius filled the others in on the new plan of attack, debating whether or not to include the Darker wizards, until Lucius piped up with "Just accidentally kill them" They just fell silent, it had all occurred to them. There was no way they could start a new life with people in prisons, and those who'd been too canny to avoid being caught of crimes far worse than those who were incarcerated. It was a well known fact that there were several of the Darkest wizards of their time sleeping in the Great Hall, having committed crimes that would never be proved short of Veritaserum, and not stupid enough to be caught for a crime that would require it.

"Kill those who you know for definite, Umbridge for one, Moody…" Lucius ever the voice of forgive and forget, had watched his lovers and child suffer at the hands of both. Moody was well known for committing acts of brutality in the name of the law, and Umbridge well one only shuddered at how dangerous she was.

"Well, whose to say the Moody with all of his magical attachments will make it through stasis… and Umbridge well – no Lucy, stop it, we will not turn into gods, playing with lives." Sev broke though into the conversation again.

"Is tempting though you have to admit"

"Of course it is, how could it not be, but it'd turn us into killers and we aren't., are we?"

Shaking their heads they made plans to wake up the others, each setting off in different directions for their own individual tasks.

_Authors note: ok, so we have one more chapter and then I'm back up to date with where I am on what's written. I'm trying to update about once a week, though I may go mad an update faster now and again._


	4. The Talk

_Authors note: I do not own any of it. This is more of a bridge chapter (I would say I was back up to date with myself, but I've written chapter 9 and 10 in the mean time eep!) _

The Talk

It had been a struggle to maintain order within the ranks as everyone was sat down in the training hall, even more so when Snape stood up on the podium. He held his hands up to demand silence, glaring at the few Slytherin who dared to whisper between themselves, he'd have expected it from Hufflepuffs or Ravenclaws, and down right was amazed that no Gryffindor dared interrupt him, but his own house, unthinkable.

"Quiet" the word hissed out, and the boys went a deathly pale, they'd pay for the indiscretion later on.

It took almost five hours to inform the people on the situation, Draco was to be told separately by Lucius. As it was, it was difficult enough to control the surge of violence that fell upon the room, those who had formerly been Slytherin knew full well about the Riddle situation, but many of the others had happily believed the Voldemort hype.

However when Tom had been brought on stage, clearly not quite with the real world any more, looking a little like the Muggle Santa Claus, and waving to some of the men he recognised in the crowd, it was clear to all that they had been deceived, though he was still dosed with Veritaserum to make sure he wasn't just pretending to be harmless.

It took two pain relieving potions to get through the announcements of the new order, it was amazing how many people would just say no for, what Snape was sure of, the very reason for saying no.

"Molly Weasley will be in charge of rationing of food,"

There were cries of "No," and dissent amongst the ranks, of which he was sure the whole reason was to irritate him.

"Perhaps you are all mistaken this isn't a question, it's a statement, or perhaps you'd rather I rationed out food?" Well it had dealt with that issue fairly easily.

"Charlie Weasley will be overseeing the Dragon enclosure, and will require a team of twelve to assist him with this, you will see him after the conclusion of this meeting to apply for the position. Please be reminded – Will you stop moving, I am not finished and that was not a request for you all to stand, sit! As I was saying, a small reminder that everyone will have their own part too play, the house elves will no longer be with us once we make the shift, so we must not get in a situation where we can not operate without them."

"Now we need qualified Mediwizards, so all those with the correct qualifications please make yourself known to me after – AFTER – the meeting has been concluded! There is a need for those qualified as cooks and kitchen hands, but only and I stress this, only if you are able to cook for a large number of people. At this point I would like to say that as we are going to be living in a time of rationing all cooking will be done in the kitchens, and everyone will eat together, any one caught preparing illicit meals, or stealing will be punished. However please feel free to petition Mrs Weasley for special occasions."

"You will all be aware that there are that there have been several new settlements on the grounds, actually I tell a lie. You will be aware of this. The reason for this is simple, we do not have enough food to last us the length of time it will take, so we will have to create our own. To do this you'll be glad to know that there is a wealth of livestock frozen, however like everything it will run out in time. The solution to this was to acquire several working farms with large stocks, which we will work to ensure we never run out.

"There will also be people required to work the crops, as well as at harvest time everyone will be involved in ensuring the complete intake and storage. I am sure that you will not complain so bitterly when you are allowed to eat the fruits of your labour. As these are muggle farms you will be under the instruction of the farm owners, and working alongside Muggle labourers. You will treat everyone fairly, remember this is not just happening to us, and unfortunately unlike ourselves they have themselves alone. You will integrate and anyone causing unrest will be dealt with in an appropriate manner.

"We will also require other skilled workers, people to build homes, it would be unwise to use magic to do so at this time, and when in the new world it would be drastically unwise, so if you have any skill whatsoever in creating without magic please step forward and see Sirius Black. Those who have the skill to sew I suggest you make yourselves know to Lucius. Arthur Weasley is in charge of Muggle tools as he has studied them.

"Whilst there may seem as if there isn't enough jobs for the amount of people, I fear there aren't enough to fill them. We will all work hard, we will be rewarded for such work, there will be no room for shirkers of responsibility, for troublemakers, these first few years will be the hardest of them all.

"It is unfair I know, but life is unfair. We all understand what you are feeling now, and we are sympathetic, we are also going through the same situation, but as it hasn't killed us it will make us stronger. Feel free to approach any of us, or to make reasonable comments. We are fallible, and any situations you believe to be going un noticed please inform us, for that is what got us into this situation in the first place.

"There will be no nobility, no lords and ladies, no rich and poor, there will only be workers. I suggest any with illusions of grandeur to loose them, quickly. I will not tolerate parasites.

"If you find yourself in a role where you have no competence, or where your skills are wasted please approach one of us again and we will do our best to get you resorted into a more appropriate position. No one job is more important than the others, no one person is more important than another. I suggest however that people give their jobs a try at least and do their best, this way we will be more inclined to switch you.

"There will be shifts, however this will be worked out once everyone is assigned a role. By the end of this week you should all be equipped, and the training will begin.

"As you will have noticed, the vast majority of you are wizard plus other, while I understand the need for territory during the full moon, you will find the wolfsbane will cure you of that, it will be distributed to you all, and any fights for dominance after it has been taken will be dealt with accordingly. Those of veela blood I would encourage you to keep your charms to yourselves, those who are unable to then there is a potion that will aid you, please make yourselves known for this to happen.

"You will all be encouraged to continue to pursue your educations, every single one of you. While I know some believe learning to be secondary after the age of 18, you will find it helps you to keep your mind agile, and if you chose to learn different skills it will aid you to switch. Saying this, I would also advise you to chose wisely what you do with your spare time.

"We can not stop you from trading things made in your spare time, however things will be monitored at some level, to stop anyone creating a monopoly. For the time being money is not in use as it is not needed, however it will be up to us all to decide when or if we bring it back into use when we are settled and stabilised in the new world.

"Lastly, I would ask for you all to be patient with each other, with us, and with yourselves. No one expects miracles, and we have margins of error for mistakes we will make. The House Elves have kindly prepared a meal for us, and afterwards you will find yourselves with a location for your temporary rooms. Temporary until we construct a new building to house us all. For the time being please leave the Great Hall alone, I will inform you when it is back in use. Please remember to see the relevant people after the meal. Enjoy."

They'd finally gotten through it all, and thankfully without blood vessels bursting. Remus had said he managed to inject the right amount of sympathy into his voice, Lucius however said that the threat of being dealt accordingly by a Potions Master and a known Dark Arts Master was a master stroke, while Sirius just grinned at him. Like he did it to impress the mutt, just because he remembered the gorgeous desk he'd constructed for him.

_Authors note: If any one is interested I have come to a quandary, at this point I've written an alternative to this all ready, I also have another alternative dotting about in my mind, so there might even be a new alternative before I hit chapter 6. Anyway I hope it's enjoyable._


	5. The Deal With Voldemort

_Author's note: As ever this doesn't belong to me. Strong anti Dumbledore vibe._

The Deal with Voldemort

"You're going to have to explain Riddle to Draco, Lucius, I refuse to have him believe a load of old rubbish just because of some stupid campaign of the old coots. He's at an age now when he can understand, and Harry won't be remaining awake so we have no risk of the great saviour finding out."

"You realize that he believes that I'm this big bad death eater, and straight, you're straight plus an amazing spy, and Remus is our enemy. He is also under the belief that his mother and I are still together and that he'll get the full Malfoy fortune, not just what Narcissa hasn't frittered away…"

"Lucius I do not care, you will inform him of the facts. You will point out the gross injustice that has occurred, and the reasons behind this grand contrivance. I suggest that you decide which is going to be more shocking to him, the thought that this rubbish about death eaters, or the fact that his inheritance will be halved, then tell him in order of least shocking to most that way he'll be able to handle it better – probably."

That was how the conversation had gone, with Draco entering at his godfather's invitation, to find his father sat at one of the kitchen tables with a bottle of malt whiskey and two glasses.

"Father, you asked to speak with me?"

"Draco, we need to talk. Sit child, it's going to be a long talk, and I think we'll both need liquid refreshment before we're finished." He waited long enough for the mini version of himself to sit opposite, before pouring them both a hefty measure of the liquid fire.

"I need to tell you a story, one that starts back when a certain "Dark lord" was a child. I should explain that Tom Riddle, who you know better as Lord Voldemort, is actually Professor Dumbledore's nephew. His mother being Dumbledore's sister, however when she met Riddle, there was a family rift at the new pairing.

"Riddle senior wasn't a pleasant man by any account, and was also a muggle; however Dumbledore's sister stayed with him, until she gave birth to Tom, where Riddle senior removed his wife from this world into the next. Tom then grew up for the next three years with his father, before being left an orphan due to a muggle car accident. In normal circumstances the closest family, which was Dumbledore, would take in the orphan. However Dumbledore was still unforgiving due to the rift, and refused to take in his young nephew. His official reason was that as a Hogwarts professor he was unable to look after such a young charge, and his parents were far too old to cope. Tom ended up in a muggle orphanage.

"He grew up into an unstable 11yr old by the time he went to Hogwarts, having been informed that all the things he was sure were happening were a figment of his imagination, then being beaten for lying. When he started at Hogwarts he was placed in to Slytherin.

"You'll be interested to know that Dumbledore also was a Slytherin, though his loyalties are to Gryffindor nowadays. As you'll know, Slytherin is half and half, as are the rest of the houses, however, Slytherin has had a rather undeserved reputation throughout the ages. Dumbledore according to Hagrid, looked most unkindly on his young nephew and from appearances anyway, seemed to forget his own stint in our house, and acted with bias. From then on, while the other professors had little problem with Tom, Dumbledore treated him as if he could do no right, giving him detentions constantly, removing points, marking his work harshly.

"Then came the incident with that overly large spider of Hagrid's, and the Basilisk. As Riddle senior was a muggle, Tom didn't get his parselmouth ability from that side of the family, in fact, legend has it that the Dumbledore family was originally named Slytherin. Parselmouth has long been a family ability. Tom however was not the one to open the chamber, he has always been acutely afraid of females, and as you are well aware the entrance lies within a girls toilets.

"We have our suspicions on who actually was the one to open the chamber, however we have never had any firm proof. Contrary to popular belief, Hagrid was not expelled for the death of the student, Maud or whatever her name was, but more due to the fact that he had the overgrown spider, and it was his final warning. He'd already been warned for keeping all manner of dangerous creatures within the school, and knew the risk when he took the spider in. Tom however had nothing to do with Hagrid's pet being found out, having unsuccessfully tried to lie to Dumbledore, who continued on to dose him with veritaserum forcing him to spill all of his secrets.

"During his interrogation Dumbledore let slip the family link. You should understand that Tom had never understood the outright hatred his professor had for him, and had worked hard, harder than that Granger girl to prove his worth. After finding out that the one person he wanted to prove most to was his uncle, Tom tried doubly hard. This was when he decided that it was in fact his muggle parentage that made Dumbledore hate him, with Dumbledore shall we say encouraging that belief. Tom believed his father's blood had tainted him, which was where mud blood comes from.

"Again contrary to popular belief, Tom didn't set up a secret organization to remove muggleborns from society; he merely started to investigate his blood, trying to prove how inferior it was to "pureblood". Unfortunately for Tom, his research attracted attention of the press printing that here was a prejudiced pureblood without bothering to do any research into the man behind the words. By the time I came to Hogwarts Tom had the reputation of being incredibly racist, with most of society against him. However there were two sections that continued to associate themselves with him, those who agreed with the principle that muggle blood tainted that of pure wizarding blood, and those of his friends.

"The problem that so called purebloods face, Draco is that we aren't, I can't name a single family who in the last two generations haven't had muggle blood within them, we've been marrying muggles for centuries, else we would have all died out or been village idiots. Your Grandmother was a muggle, and your Grandfather Black also was muggleborn. Knowing this fact, whom do you think decided to believe Tom's words, bigots and idiots, a dangerous combination. Then we have Tom's friends from school, and his uncle.

"Aberforth being the younger of the two brothers was unaware of Tom Riddle until his research hit the papers with a picture of him, and instantly recognized the young man as a relation. At first he was under the mistaken impression that he was his son, so closely did he resemble Aberforth, until a conversation with Dumbledore, when it was revealed about Agatha and her split from the family. Before you interrupt, Aberforth and Albus had a falling out just before the Grindelwald wars, over which I'll inform you of later, not speaking to any of the family members until he saw the article.

"As soon as he was informed they had another argument and haven't spoken since. Aberforth tracked down his nephew immediately, where I would like to say there was a big family reunion. Unfortunately Tom, though from all accounts glad to find his uncle, wanted to earn Dumbledore's respect even more, Aberforth and Tom argued, with Aberforth ranting about how idiotic his brother was, while Tom was defending him declaring him the wisest wizard of their time.

"They parted ways with Tom refusing to hear anything negative about his new found uncle, but offering to talk to Aberforth when he could manage to talk without insulting Albus. Aberforth though went on to talk to my father and his friends, they were Tom's friends in affect, and asked for them to look after his nephew, and offered his help through any future problems.

"As you can guess, with my father being his friend, Tom was always about and I grew up with him being part of my life. When I entered Hogwarts, I have to admit there was a small group of us who already disliked Dumbledore; your Godfather being one of them. Ever wondered why Crabbe and Goyle were Slytherin, two shameless Hufflepuff's if ever anyone did see, But their parents, my friends, and their grandparents all hold affection for Tom, and if ever anyone tells you the sorting hat is a true reflection of your personality, just point them to those two.

"As you will be aware, we all were Slytherin, fighting tooth and nail to get in, and when we did, we spent our time proving how much better we were to the whole school. Our grades were the top of the class, battling against Ravenclaw for that honour. Ravenclaw however get extra tutoring, so the glory was even greater. We trained hard at Quidditch, to the point of exhaustion, so that we won every year that we were there. And still after having the best grades in the school, winning the Quidditch Cup, we never won the house cup.

"Your godfather made several enemies during his school days, and this more than anything helped point out the bias within the school, he was a top scholar, and as you know talented beyond reckoning in the art of potions, however he struggles doing lesser magics with his wand. The four boys, Potter's father, Pettigrew, Remus and Sirius, had the tendency to wait until he was alone, before they would act. More often than not they would end up suffering more than Severus, so he was blamed for the fighting and the feud.

"You can guess how Severus felt at this, especially after the Shrieking Shack incident. You'll have to ask Severus about that, and not pester if he declines to. It was common knowledge about our affiliation with Tom, who was still known as Tom Riddle at that point, and the quartet felt it funny to name our group. At first we were the Riddler's, though they soon found that lacking in menace. Then they started calling us the Death squad, after Severus. The Eater's came with Crabbe and Goyle, it was Death and the Eaters, made us sound like a bad "pop" group, eventually it was Death Eaters, which I still think is stupid for a group which is supposedly evil, I mean it implies we eat death, so hence only life is left.

"As you can guess, that name was snatched by the media and propelled us into this group who obviously were up to no good, with all sorts of crimes being supposedly committed by us. Severus has never liked colours in his clothing, preferring to wear black, but the rest of us wear colours that suit us, but Severus' outfit was the one that we supposedly wore as our uniform. I have no idea where the idea that we wore skull's for masks came from, unless some poor soul sore Severus walking one night, I admit though I love him dearly, he does have a tendency at times to resemble Death.

"We believe that Albus gave the name Voldemort to Tom, as he was seen talking to him and after that he was known as Voldemort, it seems like the sort of thing Tom would do to please his wonderful uncle.

"You'll want an explanation of Potter and his scar no doubt. Put it this way, you need the urge to cause harm to people to cast an unforgivable. Tom wouldn't hurt an ant with a crucio. Potter senior had a small problem with chasing the ladies, well known fact; he chased skirts like a cat chases micee. Someone had enough of his ways and decided to end them, Lily got in the way trying to protect her husband from being beaten up and was thrown against something that split her skull open and she bled to death. Potter then attacked his assailant and also ended up dead. Harry though was left alone, but still managed to cut his head open on some glass.

"Instead of the Potter's dying in such a scandalous manner, it was seen as an ideal opportunity for Albus to accuse Tom, as Potter was rather loud in his objection to the "Death Eaters". To protect Tom we took him away, to let it all die out, and suddenly Potter was the Boy Who Lived, which was utter rubbish. Severus then decided that he should become Potion's Master at Hogwarts to keep an eye on Albus, claiming he was seeking to make amends for his sins.

"Severus believes Albus is so addled he actually believes the rubbish about Potter and Voldemort. Anyway, it gets confusing when I try and think of Severus spying, sometimes I think it's only spying, then it's double, then it's triple, he's spying on Albus, who thinks he's spying on Albus for Voldemort but isn't really and is actually spying for Albus, but in actual fact he's not. Severus keep's track of it. Just know that Severus isn't Dumbledore's lackey.

"The thing with Quirrel back in your first year was just some vampire who wanted his mortal life back, second year Severus entered the chamber seconds after Albus and discovered Potter stabbing some decomposing basilisk with a big piece of wood with a little red head fainting next to them. He said with the mix of decomposing flesh, stagnant water and dust, it was no wonder that they were both tripping like NEWT students at a weekend. Potter had had his head filled with tales of Voldemort all year, and what with the childish stunts of a certain headmaster, he believed that a diary had come alive and tried to kill him. Albus according to Severus was actively encouraging him.

"Sirius Black decided to pull a nasty little stunt on Severus, which backfired when he upset Remus so much he forgot his Wolfsbane and on smelling his mate- anyway Pettigrew whom had set up Potter by letting the man who actually killed him know his whereabouts, had been hiding out as a rat decided that Sirius would recognize him, and it all went down hill from there.

"You know as well as I do, that that Hippogriff wasn't sentenced to death because of you, as you never complained about being bitten. So who do you think set the beast up and blamed a known Death Eater… Anyway, that stupid Quidditch game when the stadium collapsed was due to shoddy workmanship. It was proven weeks after that the stadium hadn't been constructed properly however it seemed better to go with the old Death Eater attack, just because there was a big cloud of dust in the air afterwards.

"Then we had the unstable son of a counselor, whom had been locked up in an asylum for being unstable and escaped. Potter had nightmares about him, and involves him in nightmares about this evil monster who is out to get him. Albus puts him into the triwizard tournament for glory, the unstable Crouch has his own game plan though what he actually wanted to achieve I doubt anyone will ever know. He ends up killing Cedric and Potter flees home. He then accuses us of being there when we were all at the Ministry with that idiot Fudge trying to convince him Albus has lost his mind.

"Each time there is a tragedy it's "Voldemort", to the point where we suspect that it's no longer just Dumbledore and Potter blaming him, that in fact it's a great excuse to stop the blame going elsewhere. Why bother investigating a murder when you can blame it on the Dark Lord. "

In between gaps Lucius had been sipping at the whiskey, and between them they were two thirds through, with both men becoming light headed. Draco had sat patiently, quietly, at first his expression disbelieving but as the story went on he had become more open, and suddenly it made sense, things that had never tallied up, Buckbeak's almost execution for one. It had been his fault, having decided to show off to his friends, and honest enough to admit to them he'd deserved it. Other things too, like why Death Eater's were supposed to have a dark mark according to the press, when in fact it was just Severus.

"The Dark Mark?"

"Severus wanted a tattoo to celebrate passing his Mastery in Potions, and being Severus picked something black. It went a little septic in the beginning, and doesn't react all that well with potion fumes, he has to be careful with it, though he refuses to get it removed. I think it was supposed to be some Celtic symbol of Potions, but to be honest I think it's more that he saw something he liked the look of and chose it. I'm sure some of the others have tattoos, it was the thing to do when we were in our late teens early twenties, on your back, or shoulder, or even worse your behind. I think Crabbe had his name on his forehead as a dare, though that's only on Goyle's say so. If he did he had it removed pretty much the same day."

"You're gatherings?"

"We could hardly invite a bunch of small children, you'd have let slip to someone, a tutor, your professors about this man called Tom Riddle. He's a wanted man Draco, not that he's aware of it. I don't think he's been aware of anything since the name Voldemort. We keep him away from the public, keep him away from papers, from strangers. Supply him with books, keep him company, try and keep him sane. You could call us a bunch of Hufflepuff's but he's ours, we would not allow anyone to destroy him."

They sat in silence for a while, both gazing into the fire, Draco letting the new information settle, glad in the knowledge his father wasn't evil, that he wasn't evil. Lucius was trying on the other hand to work out how to tell his son about the other issue.

Pouring another measure of whiskey each he coughed gently, dragging his only child's attention back.

"I didn't ask you here to talk about Tom alone, There is something else that we need to talk about before you talk to Severus. It will come as a shock I realize, though I know you well enough that you have a good head on your shoulders, and will think before you react.

"Your mother and I are separated, actually we are divorced, and have been for almost 17 years. We married because I needed an heir. I love you, don't misunderstand me, your mother loves you, we've kept living together for your well being, both believing that you would prosper more with a mother and a father, and when we divorced we were able to operate together adequately, much better than when we were married.

"I'll start at the beginning again. My father was a very tolerant man, he respected my choices in life. When I announced that I was gay and in a relationship, he was very supportive, though he only asked that I ensured that the Malfoy name would be passed on through blood. Which was when my partner suggested Narcissa Black. He also helped me throughout the very short marriage.

"Do I get to know who this partner is? Or are you too ashamed?"

"Never ashamed, Severus and I are a couple, but that's for later still. Severus prepared a fertility potion to help proceedings and she fell pregnant almost instantly. You were born almost nine months after my wedding day, and we were divorced as soon as your birth certificate was sorted out. Your mother had an adequate income while you were still a child while you were still living with us, and when you left home for good, or we decided it was a suitable time for us to part, she was to get half of the family fortune."

"Half? What the hell did she do to deserve that, what carried me for nine months Woohoo! I mean Uncle Sev spent more time with me than she ever did. I bet he wouldn't ask for half, he'd let me have it as I am your child!" Draco had stopped listening at this point to any attempt from his father at calming him down and continued to splutter and rant for another ten minutes before calming down.

"So this was a big secret, you're gay? I mean mother being an utter bitch and stealing from her child was a bit hard to take, though I'm going to hire someone you know, to make sure she doesn't lay a finger on any of it."

"Not quite all of it. You see back at school Severus was being picked on by the four morons, and he was set up by them on a dangerous prank. However instead of the outcome that was expected, it was revealed that the wolf within Remus liked Severus. Liked him more than as a potential friend –"

"You mean the wolf wanted him as a mate?"

"Correct, Severus however was slightly traumatized by the whole charade, and Remus when he transformed back from his wolf form, changed too. He spent months chasing after Severus begging to be forgiven, trying to spend time with him. As you may be aware the habits of mating werewolves means that Severus had to have somewhere wanted the same thing deep down, I think that was what upset him most.

"Being attracted to Remus myself, though I would never have betrayed my love, I approached him after he started standing against the other three, after he refused to give up, no matter how any times he was blasted away, and suggested that we became partners.

"Severus I'm sure felt betrayed at first, not understanding why when he kept seeing myself and Remus in our favorite spots, I would refuse to end our relationship. It took a year for him to accept our duo had turned into a trio, to accept Remus' touch without flinching. For the first five years of our strange relationship, Remus wasn't terribly interested in me, I was just a means of getting Severus, and he was just a means of keeping Severus. He didn't mind either way when Narcissa and I married, nor did he mind when we divorced. He attended your christening, but stayed at the back, keeping out of sight for the most part. That all changed when Potter and Lily were killed, Black and Remus both knew about Potter's problem with women, and Remus had been with both Severus and I at the time. He was also aware of our affiliation with Tom and had in fact met him several times. So when it was all blamed on Voldemort, Remus didn't believe it for a second.

"Sirius believed it, but he believed Pettigrew was the murderer and went slightly insane and ended up in the same asylum as Crouch, until he escaped. Which was the reason behind the prank in your Third Year, Sirius' revenge.

"Anyway after Potter's death Remus needed us more than ever, having gone from having three close friends to none, and that was when we became closer, learning to love each other. I don't think Severus noticed the difference to be honest, but we did. However our relationship is a discrete one, as we are aware that Remus and Severus in a relationship with a known Death Eater would cause chaos. Dumbledore would act and we wouldn't like the outcome. We do all live together though, courtesy of Severus and his magic."

"Then we come on to our newest member, Sirius, he's just become ours in the past few days though he's been a constant for a while now." There was an uneasy silence as the words sat in the ears of both men, Lucius suddenly slightly uneasy at the thought that his son might not understand the concept of a pack like relationship, and Draco uneasy at the thought that it might mean that there was less money in the bank for him to inherit.

"You're not going to reveal anything private are you now, like your favorite position in bed, because I like how you feel you can trust me with all of this, but I really don't want to know, parents aren't meant to have sex"

"That's private between us four, I hardly think I'd feel the need to share that with you Draconis. There is a reason behind me revealing all of this now though. Severus will explain it to you later, but for now I think you need to think carefully over every thing you've learnt today. Oh and son?" He paused waiting for his son to look at him, for all that Draco believed Lucius still knew his son well, "We're all financially independent, don't worry about anyone spending it but your mother."

Gently ruffling his son's hair he stood, offering him a smile. It had gone well, better than expected, and he felt lighter, lighter than he'd felt in a while, now that the burden of revealing both his sexuality and his loyalties had been shared with his son. Beaming as he left the room, and hugging Severus who'd been sat outside the door, waiting patiently, whom he knew would have intervened if it had all gone wrong, he whispered, "He's all yours love" before leaving his Death to speak with Draco, off in search of Remus.


	6. The Wicked Stepfathers

_Authors note: I do not own any of this._

The Wicked Stepfathers

Severus joined Draco in front of the fire, settling down quietly next to him, prepared to be silent until addressed. They sat for a good hour in silence before Draco's curiosity got the better of him.

"So how does it work, you father Black and Lupin? I know Werewolves are pack animals, and there is alpha male and then the rest are subordinates with each member having their own rank. Somehow though I can't see you as a subordinate, father is a natural Alpha as is that Black fellow with his strutting around like he was head cock! And Lupin's a beta wolf if ever I saw, but you, where do you fit? Are you like Alpha female? Or the equivalent?"

"You really want to understand how we work? Bearing in mind you were offended earlier by just the mention of our "pack" as you refer to it as. I doubt you actually want to know the true mechanics behind our relationship, and if you are so eager to find out whom is Alpha then you should ask the wolf."

"Perhaps you're right, the thought of my father in bed with anyone is enough to turn my stomach – no offence, I'm sure – actually sorry I can't even complete that sentence in my mind with out feeling the urge to gouge my eyes out."

"You'll be pleased to know that I am secure enough not to worry about my godson not lusting after me." There was a dry note in his words as he gazed at the fire, with Draco by his side blushing redder than a Weasley.

"The reason your father revealed all he had today is because you will be living in a completely different world as of a few days ago. By now you'll be aware that there is a large proportion of the wizarding world within the school, and everyone is talking of a practice drill? Yes well, as of the five days ago there is nothing left other than Hogwarts. Imagine Lye powder and how it irritates the lungs if inhaled, how it irritates the flesh if it settles upon it, now imagine that this lye powder in fact killed you but slowly, sending you mad with pain and sickness, and that it killed everything it touched just as slowly, that it coated the world in a suffocating blanket of death. That nothing was safe, and that when it was spread it needed an explosion to such a great extent that the very heat turned the sand on beaches to glass, that the people around where it exploded were killed instantly burning up in seconds. The Muggles had weapons like these, they called them Nuclear, and after a long though incredibly private battle two Muggle nations set them off, aiming for each other.

"Outside of Hogwarts this is how the world is. This powder will stay there until the winds blow it away up into the sky, but it will remain just as deadly eventually it'll lose it's potency, but we're talking about centuries here.

"We have saved as much as we could, but we'll have to leave here. Even if we sustained our protection for the world to remove the poisons, the atmosphere will have changed and wont be able to support us, the weather will be severe, and the best we could hope for is waiting out a millennia for nature to organize a new world suitable for us, and from what I've read of evolution it will all be completely different. Do you know that Earth is only perfect for life, or life as we are because of small thing. The placement of the planet to the sun, the moon to the earth, the gases that surround the planet. Draco, in a few decades Muggles would have effectively ruined the protection blanket around the earth and we would have had to move anyway.

"You will know about magic from your history of magic class I'm sure. You'll know of the splitting of the Fae, the reason why the most famous of the magical folk are never seen, mere myths now of a time long gone. House Elve's are what is left of the Elfin folk, and Leprechauns of the Fae. They left, they left here almost two thousand years ago, and our ancestors decided that we'd be better suited staying, staying in a world that had already begun to shake off it's belief in gods and magic.

"Perhaps they were right to stay, if we'd gone then we would no longer be as we are, no longer numerous and stable, we'd have either interbred, weakened by our frailties, or we'd have merged fully with the magical folk and no longer been a race of our own but many different races.

"Now though, we have no choice, there is enough of us to start again, to retain that what makes us wizard and witch alike. Or we give in gracefully to our destinies and become Elfin and Fae alike.

"Anyway, you'll find there are a whole heap of people out there, awake and stunned. You'll be with your classmates as they would not have been safe with the others once they wake, and the Were as well, so you'll recognize some of the other students not of our house. You will leave all prejudice behind however Draconis, I will make this clear now. However I have need for a small staff of potions experts, which you will be one of, you will aid in creating the wolfsbane and other necessary potions. We are in a time of work, no more of this ordering from catalogues…" Draco has the grace to blush at this, his godfather had rollocked him for the lazy attitude of ordering his school supplies.

"Instead we will have a team of botanists cultivating the necessary ingredients, we will have people working the orchards to produce us fruit, working the land for crops, working the animals for meat, we will have people creating us clothing, healing us. Everything will have to be done by ourselves, and we will be living on rationing for the foreseeable future.

"As an intelligent man you will understand the implications of this, we're talking about starting two whole new civilizations. One which will include Muggles. We have been joined by several large farms of which are run by muggles, and you will integrate with them, and you will make them feel welcome."

"I'm scared…" came the soft whisper, and Draco found himself wrapped up in a tight hug, barely catching the softly spoken words "We all are…"

The pair sat quietly, with Draco shooting nervous glances at his father's lover, "Does this change things? Are you now going to be Dad, or Daddy?"

"Do you want that from us, we've always looked at you as ours, but that doesn't mean we need to force you to call us things that you might not want to. Especially me. Severus I can understand if you want, he's been there throughout your life, openly doting on you, but I don't mind if you wish for us to be remain as Draco and Remus"

"I've always though of Severus as my dad, he was often more approachable than my own father you know, even when he's angry you know he wouldn't raise a hand to you, Dad though sometimes, he looks so intimidating"

"Tell me about it, but I'll tell you something, he's the kindest man that I've met, they both are. Your father though, he's well restrained about things. He loves you more than anything in the world, and it hurts him to think that you were being given a hard time because of what you learnt. He was nervous that you'd start to believe what you were told, that you'd start to become what they told you you were. He was also petrified that you'd find out about us and hate him.

"He was also suffering for the first few years of your life, and by the time he woke up enough from his pain, well he'd missed out on good years, and has been playing catch up with Severus since."

"Dad said that he married mum to get an heir, so what about you and Severus, didn't you?"

An uncomfortable silence fell, before Remus beckoned Draco onto his lap, facing him towards the fire, while the strong arms wrapped around his waist, his stubbled chin resting on his shoulder.

"Severus has always been a talented potions master, before you were born; a good two years before you were born, he stumbled across a formula to enable male partners to have children. We discussed, or he told us that he was going to carry the child, and took from both myself and your father.

"Because of my dna in the mix it sped up the term for the pups to be carried, from conception to birth it took less than three months and we were blessed with a litter of pups. They were the most gorgeous things you've ever seen. Natural animagi from the offset, born as actual wolf pups, tiny and small, and Severus must have slept for a week afterwards. " His amber eyes stared at the flames, moist at the memory of the children, his arms instinctively tightening around his adopted pup.

"It was a hard birth, but afterwards we saw it was best that he had been the one to carry, my body would have killed them on the first moon change, and Lucius wouldn't have been able to carry them past the first month. Severus though, he grew as big as a house, and loved every second of it.

"We had ten, can you believe it, ten pups, six males, and four females, and they were the sweetest things. Within two months they'd all changed into their human forms and kept them, and by the time they were six months Severus was swearing that each and every one of them could walk.

"I was away for the full moon, keeping away, and Lucius had been taken ill, seriously ill, he ended up in St Mungo's and Severus was making potions trying to heal him. They were left with Hagrid, the nearest person at the time. When I returned the next day Hagrid was near death, tied up against the whomping willow, with tiny cuts all over his body, an offering for the creatures of the Forest no doubt.

"I revived him enough to hear him gasp out that they'd been taken, that he'd been attacked by some unknown creature, he said Voldemort – anyway, I went to Hagrid's and well I tracked the scent down to the forest where I found three of my little daughters half eaten, and the remains of the others.

"I don't think I'll ever get over that day, I don't think any of us will. After that Sev refused to make another potion, and your dad was told that he had to have a heir to the bloodline. Sev made him the fertility potion, and then doted on your mother throughout the pregnancy, I think it was his way of moving on.

"When you were born well it was like you were ours, but not. Lucius was afraid to get too attached in case something happened to you, but Severus he'd hardly leave your room. You were fed so many protection potions and kept so healthy, I can't think of a single time you were left alone." His lips curved into a smile, though it didn't chase the haunted look from his eyes. "You was his salvation, it's no wonder you grew to be a spoilt brat"

"Hey, I am still here you know, and I'll have you know it's not brattishness it's confidence" They smiled at each other before hugging each other tightly. "I'm sorry, it would have been nice to have a big family"

"We have a big family, we have your dads big hair, and Sev's big nose, and my big …" Remus broke off into a wolfish grin.

"I don't wanna know about your bigness thank you, you're practically my Da now"

"Your Da hmm… that means though that I get to send you to bed without supper and spank you for being naughty"

"I said practically, so no to the spanking. But it'll be nice to have someone else to fall back on."

"Sirius as well, he's part of this big happy family, But he's only little so you'll fit right in" He started to tickle the blonde on his knee.

"Da…? If you an' Sev are lovers why did he tell on you, why did he tell everyone that you were a wolf, I mean it would have been perfect for you both to be working and living together, you could socialize without Dumbledore getting suspicious."

"He didn't"

"So if he didn't, then why did he teach us all about werewolves when you were off ill?"

"It was next in the syllabus Draco, DADA teacher get's a lesson plan for the year, and we have to stick to it. Werewolves were down for that day. It was a good job really, I mean would you believe the stuff he taught if I had taught you it, and then you found out I was a werewolf? You'd think I was just lying to save my skin. Actually I might have done, I get a little squeamish when I start thinking about the ways to kill me."

"Da…?"

"Yeah…?"

"Is he a vampire?" they burst out into snickers.

"Well if you believe anything I tell you about werewolves you should know that werewolves and vampires hate each other, but that's just a big lie. But I would have smelt it on him. And think about it Blondie, you've seen him in the sunlight, he loves Italian food, his Mother has been a devout Catholic all of his life, I doubt it. He says – cos we've all asked him, it's just our thing to wind him up. He says, his Dad was Romany, and his Mother comes from Romania, it's hereditary apparently. That an he's got an obsession about potions, I mean he claims that the best place to make potions is in somewhere cold because you can control the temperatures better, I just think he got sun burnt once and has loathed the sun ever since, but don't tell him that else he'll have my guts for garters!"

"You know about us leaving?"

"Yeah, he's offered to wipe it from our minds, not that it'll do much good. It's scary as hell out there, we went up to the tower and sat on the roof and stared out, it's just like a wasteland out side of the shell. We'd never survive here, it's best for us; we can reacquaint ourselves with the raw magic." He ruffled the blonde's hair affectionately, grinning at the faint moan of protest.

"Da…?" This time it was with a faint hint of fear.

"Yeah…?"

"Are you the Alpha?"

"It's not quite that simple, but in the broadest sense of the word yes. I'm part wolf, we're pack animals, it just works better that way for us anyway, when someone has the ultimate responsibility. It's hard to describe, we all look after each other, my finances are in a very healthy way after your father got his hands on my paperwork, and I've learnt how to deal with people like Fudge from him. I also gained Sev, and a son. Your father gets someone to vent to, he gets to come home and scream and shout and do all the things a refined Malfoy never does, he gets enjoy not being so responsible all the time. Sev however gets to live longer.

"You know we went away on holiday your father and I, during term time, I think he lost almost a stone and was so pale. He'd forgotten to eat some days, but he had a healthy stock of potions, and Poppy claimed she had a wider range of strange and rare potions than St Mungo's. I think he managed to get through a years supply of ingredients in two weeks."

"So who decides who is and isn't in your pack? I mean like Sirius, did you all decide, or was it just you? What if we fall out, I mean what if I mess up, does that mean you'll stop Dad from talking to me?"

"Draco, that will never happen, you're his son and nothing could stop him being your Dad, you have to know that." Hugging the trembling blonde tightly he sighed softly. "No one will take him away from you, I promise."

"Draco love, stop thinking of it as a clear cut "I'm in charge" situation. It's a partnership, we're all equal, none of us would, or could force the others to do anything, it's like a marriage, but with more than two people" He smiled into the others hair, "And no Sirius isn't just someone I decided should be part of the pack. He's an attractive man, full of admirable qualities, and he's fallen head over heals for your Dad."

"Does that mean like anyone you're attracted to becomes pack?" The question came out quite sharp, though Draco wasn't sure whom he was more offended for.

"No pet, it's not an open relationship, Sirius has been sniffing round us for years, he just had an unfortunate reaction to Severus. You remember how you were at Primary School love? When you liked someone you hit them, well that's Sirius all over, except he'd take it too far. It's taken two years for him to realize half killing us wasn't going to make us accept him. You know he's always known about us three, never told anyone else though. He's good like that."

"Does this mean you aren't happy just the three of you? I mean does it mean that you don't love each other as much anymore?"

"No pet, he's just part of us, like you are, but not like you. Even Sev notices when he's absent from us for too long, he's grown on us like mould on bread."

"Oh, ok. But surely he's going to be like the others, I mean Potter's not going to be with us, and he dotes on Potter"

"It's Harry Draco, and no Sirius is staying with us, he loves Harry, but Harry has a life that doesn't really include Sirius. That's not to say when everything settles and they are I guess woken, that they won't be in each other's lives."

"So we're second best, he can't have Harry so it's us"

"no pet, it's more like we're first choice, he could have decided to play a minor role in Harry's life, but decided to forgo Harry altogether."


	7. Settling In

3

_Authors note: As ever the characters and location do not belong to me._

Settling In

The first inkling that it was a full moon was when Lupin's eyes glowing and then falling to the floor screaming as he changed. They'd half expected it, he'd been grouchy all day, though they all had. Severus managed to contain Moony, though the rest of the castle didn't fare so well. No one died but half the pure wizards were bitten. There was nothing anyone could do about it, to have dosed them in precaution would have meant to kill them, and there was no way of predicting the moon cycle after the days asleep. In all they decided that they'd been fortunate for the result. Worst case would have been for the non Were to all have been killed and the Were to have then turned on each other.

There was a day of healing, for both the newly turned and the Were, the trauma to both groups was declared to be damaging and Severus spent the evening obliviating every one of the events. He left those who were to be Were with the knowledge that they would be Were, but none of the memories of being turned.

After that was dealt with they settled back into the new regime. For all of Snape's worrying, Molly had the whole operation sorted, she'd managed to ensure everyone had a job to do, she had her kitchen crew up and running, who provided simple but delicious meals.

Meal times varied depending on the craft, the name decided on by a small Hufflepuff who had regaled Molly with tales of working with horses when she'd gone to be assigned a job. Those of the 9 to 5 variety of craft such as sewing ate all together, using the newly furnished Great Hall, with Breakfast between 7 and 8:30, with lunch between the hours of 1 and 2 and the evening meal between 6:30 and 8.

Those who worked outside tended to rise with the dawn and eat around 6, with lunch being brought out at 12, normally a variety of both hot and cold, and then would eat again around 5. The Healers would eat in shifts, depending on night and day, and would often eat in their own small communal area. The Potions staff however followed in their masters footsteps and often had to be nagged into eating, with delegates from the kitchen checking up on them throughout the day and night leaving trays of food, and sending Molly up to shout when they were left untouched.

There were minor set backs, when a rather ignorant Lord Hepplethwaite declared he was the foreman for the sheep farm, and the Muggle farmer just carried on teaching the others what had to be done and assigned the Lord the duty of shovelling up sheep shit for manure for the arable Crafters being one. Another happened when Ron Weasley snuck into the Great Hall and woke up Hermione and Harry, who both had to be oblivated and sent back into a deep sleep. Ron was dragged by his ear by an irate Snape, who threw him at him mother, hissed out what the brat had done, and stormed out saying he couldn't trust himself not to kill the creature.

There were squabbles about who'd done what, and those who had been lumbered with jobs they hated had petitioned for a switch. There were arguments about who had the better jobs, and rifts that fell between crafts on rank, but they were stamped on as quickly as they formed. It was hard to argue when Snape had you against the wall by your throat.

One thing that everyone agreed on was that the general health amongst those who were awake had improved ten fold.

Though no-one had agreed with Ron's method of waking Harry up, it did raise the question, was Harry Potter to be left in a delusional world, or was he to be told the truth? Ron argued that he was used to hard work, that he'd lived with appalling muggles who treated worse than a house elf.

"You really believe Remus would let his friends son alone all these years without keeping an eye on him, especially with what we know about Dumbledore?" came the mocking question.

"You're really trying to tell me that Lupin, the most good natured man on the planet, would leave Harry to be starved to death!"

"Ron, he was treated like their own son, the Dursley's are actually very friendly muggles, and if you'd taken the time to see your father at work, you'd have met both Vernon and Dudley for yourself, and your mother and Petunia work closely keeping an eye on the overall running of the place. You'll also notice that neither Vernon nor Dudley are fat as Harry sees them in his mind, but attractive men, and Petunia is as lovely as his own mother.

"Harry has unfortunately been Dumbledored, he was given books to read about mistreated orphans, and Dumbledore encourages him to believe himself to be mistreated. He just stops eating the last week of summer. Talk to Dudley he can tell you how much fun they've had, and he'll be able to show you all the clothed pictures of Potter, Petunia has the baby photos though."

"So where did he get the Brutus school thing from then? The one he says they tell everyone he goes to and why did he get the freak thing from"

"The Incurably Criminal School bit is from one of those angsty fictional pieces that he reads on the muggle computer, the freak bit is I guess a mixture of his imagination and Dumbledore. Harry is a lovely boy, but really he often lives in an imaginary world rather than the real one. Let me ask you something, did you rescue him from his bedroom window with bars on?"

"Well no, but he was waiting on the doorstep, he kind of looked like he'd been kissed on the cheek, but he wiped it off pretty quickly so it might have been something else."

"It's not that he's trying to lie to you, it's just that for him that's the truth, when he's not there."

"So you'll just leave him to be manipulated by the old man and left in a fantasy world? Remus please, you know he wants nothing more than to be ordinary, all that Boy Who Lived rubbish just scares him, All he gets told is that he's going to die, and Dumbledore keeps filling his head with all sorts of nightmares. He thinks he sees Snape being tortured by a huge snakelike man, except for there is no such thing, and you said yourself you weren't tortured. Save him from himself before the Headmaster gets him killed. He's my best friend… "

"And Granger, Longbottom? How about the Patil's? How about the whole bloody school, you really want to leave Granger to be the only one of the infamous trio left out, could you reign in your sensibilities after we rescue Potter? And what if he fails to acknowledge what's true? You'll be happy for me to obliviate him? And what of everyone else, you wish for them to feel like we are treating the lad as a saviour, a hero when he's just a normal kid, they wont be happy if he's suddenly given privileges over those who work hard for them."

"He'll work hard, and Hermione will be fine,"

"Only because you fell out." It was the first time Draco had spoken during the rapidly developing argument, he'd been keeping his counsel, knowing anything he'd say would be taken with a pinch of salt.

"Shut up Malfoy, we didn't fall out, we just decided that we wanted different things out of life –"

"Yeah like you wanted sex, and she wanted a ring on her finger"

"Shut it before I shut it for you ferret!"

"Ronald, you will apologise to Draco, and Draco while I understand this is difficult for you, please can you hold your counsel for a few more minutes?" Draco nodded sullenly to his godfather, who in return acknowledged it with a small nod.

"We will wake Potter, we'll explain to him the situation and he will be returned to the Dursleys, he will reside with them if he reacts well to the news. He will be on probation as will you Ronald, if either of you act in ways you shouldn't you will be held accountable."

This was the last big decision made for a while, with the initial uproar from the others, it was decided no one else would be woken no matter who they were. However Harry did slip into life quickly, causing little stir, he worked hard, and he filled back out again, happier with life now he was back with his family.


End file.
